Posts Tagged ‘fiber’

Breakfast Benefits

If you eat a healthy breakfast each and every day, you can expect to receive some, or even all of the following benefits! 1. More energy throughout the day. 2. Improved concentration for school/work. 3. Lower cholesterol levels. 4. Helps manage your weight. 5. Can reduce the risk of heart disease. 6. Increases your metabolic rate. 7. Helps lower your blood pressure. 8. Helps prevent obesity. Don’t make excuses! Many people tend to not eat a nutritious breakfast, or even any breakfast at all, because they are — too busy, too tired, don’t have enough time, not hungry, consider eating breakfast not important or simply don’t know how to make a healthy breakfast. If you find that you are not eating a healthy breakfast please consider the above reasons for why you should. If you need help or guidance, feel free to contact me and I will offer some advice in hopes that you will do whatever it takes to make sure you start eating breakfast -which truly is the most important meal of the day, and for many reasons! This is essentially why I made this website. To hlep people make healthy food choices when it comes to breakfast… Good Luck!

Peanut Butter is one of the most popular foods that kids (and adults!) love to eat. Peanut Butter is full of nutrition, can be added to a variety of healthy breakfast recipes (pancakes, toast, homemade breakfast bars), is jelly’s buddy when it comes to one of the most popular sandwiches ever created, is added to quite a few candy bars for extra deliciousness, and of course is often eaten all by itself by dipping a spoon right in the jar to be enjoyed for its wonderful simplicity.

Peanut Butter Nutrition

It’s important to understand that the less refined the peanut butter, meaning the less it is processed and thus the less additional and unnecessary ingredients it contains, the better! Two tablespoons of peanut butter contain about 190 calories, provides about 6 grams of carbohydrates, about 2 grams of fiber, about 8 grams of protein, and about 25% of your daily intake of monounsaturated fats (which is good1).

Peanut Butter – Fat & Calories

Although Peanut Butter is high in calories, it offers lots of nutritional benefits. Most of the calories comes from the high amount of fat, yet the majority of these fats are monounsaturated, which is a good fat as it can help to lower your LDL (aka bad) cholesterol. The other fats are polyunsaturated, which helps to raise your HDL (aka good) cholesterol, so it’s really a win-win when it comes to the fats found in Peanut Butter. A small amount of carbohydrates, proteins, and fiber (as well as other essentials) are also included in Peanut Butter.

Looking for a Peanut Butter Recipe?

Try out one or both of these super easy Peanut Butter recipes. Be sure to share the end result as well as if you altered the recipe to make it even more healthy!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter cookies are easy to make and quite delicious! 1/2 heaping cup whole wheat flour 3/4 cups of quick oats 1/3 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 heaping cup of Peanut Butter 1/3 cup agave syrup 1 large egg 1 1/2 tsps vanilla Heat oven to 375°. First combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. Then combine all the wet ingredients and mix them together well. Then blend the two together, once again mixing well until fully blended. Drop a tablespoon or so of the Peanut Butter cookie dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 9 – 11 minutes. TIPS: Put the dough into the refrigerator for about half an hour, which make sit easier to work with. Flatten dough with a fork for a more traditional look. Sprinkle a few small dark chocolate chips of top for extra specialness!

Peanut Butter Balls

This Peanut Butter recipe is super fun for kids to make as well as super delicious! 1 1/2 cups of quick oats 1/4 – 1/3 cup of agave syrup 2/3 cup of Peanut Butter 1/4 cup of Flax Seeds (also adds crunch, which some kids like and some don’t) 1/4 cup of raisins or chocolate chips 1/2 tsp vanilla Mix together well and chill for a couple of hours. Enjoy!!

How to Make Peanut Butter – So Simple!

Put (roasted and blanched) peanuts into a grinder. Add salt to taste. Sugar and hydrogenated vegetable oil (although hydrogentated vegetable oil keeps the the Peanut Butter oils from seperating from the Peanut Butter itself, it contains trans fats, which are bad news!) are also commonly added for flavor. TIP: You don’t have to keep Peanut Butter in the refrigerator. IMPORTANT!: It is highly recommended that children under the age of two avoid eating peanut butter due to a possible allergic reaction. Therefore, recipes with peanuts should also be avoided.

Chia Seeds

So what exaclty are chia seeds? Chia seeds come from the Chia plant, which is native to both Mexico and Guatamala. High in omega-3 fatty acids as well as dietary fiber, chia seeds are a great way to add these two essential items to your everyday diet.

Chia Seeds – Nutrition

–Chia Seeds are full of nutrients! –There are about 140 calories in a 1-ounce serving of chia seeds. –Glycemic Load is very low –There are about 12 grams of carbohydrates included in a 1-ounce serving of chia seeds. –A 1-ounce serving of chia seeds can provide nearly half of your daily fiber intake!

Chia Seed – Suggestions

You can choose to add the chia seeds to your water (or your favorite drink), although know that they will become gelatinous, or you can grind them for a smoother drinking quality. Or add them to your yogurt like I do every morning for a nutritious breakfast. They fit in perfectly with my flax seeds and granola! Also, you can add them to your oatmeal or in your next batch of banana bread. All you need is about 2 – 3 tablespoons (1 ounce) to receive the many benefits derived from consuming chia seeds. Although I really don’t agree with being sneaky about food when it comes to kids being picky eaters, integrating chia seeds into pancakes, muffins, or essentially any food that your child currently eats can be quite easy to do. I only suggest this for kids who are super picky and thus not open to trying any new food. I’m sure there are many, many more ways in which you can add chia seeds to your everyday diet. Since I’ve only found out about chia a couple of months ago, I would love if you would please share some of the ways you currently use chia seeds. We’d love to hear about them!

Fiber

We usually hear about fiber when we read about food and health, or when we see this word on food labels. Fiber isn’t always on the top of everyone’s list when it comes to finding nutritious foods to eat, which probably means that many of us don’t know exactly what it is or how important it is to our health. There are many great sources of fiber that we can incorporate in our diet, we just need to do a little research in order to find which of our favorite foods have a lot of fiber content so we can eat these particular foods more often. And who knows, maybe in the process you’ll find a few more healthy food ideas to give yourself a little more variety! A few foods that are high in fiber include – fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole wheat, whole grains, beans, and seeds.

Oats

Oatsare a great way to get your fiber intake during breakfast! Oats can be used for a variety of healthy breakfast meals, and are easily incorporated into a variety of healthy breakfast recipes.

Two main types of fiber: soluble and insoluble

Soluble

is commonly found in legumes, oat bran, and psyllium. As the name implies, this type of fiber dissolves in water.

Insoluble

on the other hand is something that our bodies cannot digest. This includes the plant walls which cannot be dissolved by our bodies which are common in cereals and vegetables.

Fiber Benefits

A diet rich in fiber is known to contribute many health benefits. The most common result of a high fiber diet is good bowel movement (it absorbs water as it goes along the colon thereby easing defecation). Fiber also lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, reduces risks of heart disease and Type II Diabetes, while helping prevent certain forms of cancer.

How Much Fiber?

Fiber contributes to healthy weight management because with the right amount of daily intake (25 to 35 grams), fat absorption is reduced. Because food rich in fiber are low in the glycemic index, they take longer for the body to convert into sugar. This means that those who eat fiber regularly don’t feel hungry very often.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a delicious hot cereal that is definitely one of my all-time favorite breakfast foods. (I occasionally eat oatmeal as a late-night snack, too!) Oatmeal is a great option for a wholesome, nutritious breakfast meal. I remember when my mom served me oatmeal as a kid on a cold winters day, I was so happy and content! And to this day I can still say that oatmeal still gives me with that feeling of comfort one gets from eating their favorite comfort food… Although cold cereal is one of the most popular breakfast meals, you should definitely consider eating a delicious hot cereal from time to time.

Oatmeal Benefits

Why should you eat oatmeal? A few really great health benefits… 1. Whole-Grains are good for you! 2. Helps to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol. 3. Anti-oxidants have anti-inflammatory properties. 4. High dietary fiber content. 5. High amounts of thiamin, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, selenium, and manganese.

Oatmeal Recipes

I like to keep it simple. I make my quick oats and then sprinkle a little brown sugar on top. Sometimes I’ll add chia seeds or flax seeds for some extra nutrition. Since there are a few different types of oatmeal, be sure to experiment so you are able to figure out which one is your favorite. Types of Oatmeal –Steel Cut, Rolled, Quick-Cooking, Old-Fashioned, Instant Oatmeal Topping or Add-In Ideas –your favorite fruit –peanut butter –cinnamon, brown sugar, sugar substitutes –raisins, flax seeds, chia seeds–yogurt (omit if you’re lactose-intolerant) Oatmeal is my favorite hot cereal that leaves me feeling full, which is partly due to the high fiber content as well as the 2 pieces of whole wheat or whole grain toast I eat with it every single time.

Oatmeal Ingredients

Be sure to buy a brand where the only ingredient is oatmeal. Most brands try to pull you in by adding flavors, but all you’re getting is about 20 ingredients that really have no health benefits to them. Instead of buying ‘blueberry-flavored oatmeal’, simply buy some fresh blueberries and add them to your oatmeal.